1. PROMOTION
Brazil, land of the samba, Sugar Loaf Mountain and
Copacabana beach, is also distinguishing itself in the midst
of the worldwide financial crisis by the resilience of its eco-
nomic performance.
In the face of the global slowdown, the Brazilian econ-
omy is predicted to grow this year by a relatively respectable
2.5%. Last year, the South American nation achieved the
notable feat of being the least affected by the international
economic downturn.
Although business activity in Brazil slowed gradually
through the last six months of 2008, its economy maintained
an overall growth rate estimated at 5.2%. This was a more
substantial performance than that of any of the world’s most
developed economies.
Significantly, domestic demand, rather than exports, has
been the main driver of Brazil’s growth. While highly
unequal income distribution continues to be a major prob-
lem in this nation of almost 200 million people, it is the coun-
try’s burgeoning middle class that has fueled the economy’s
expansion.
The highest-earning 10% of the population comprises
20 million people, and households with an annual dispos-
able income of more than US$7,500 increased from 42.7%
to 57.1% between 2005 and 2007.
For the first time in a generation, Brazilians have been ben-
efiting from stable economic growth, low inflation rates and
improvements in their social well-being.
BRAZIL
Continued on next page >>
Despite the global economic gloom, this Latin American giant
is enjoying growing prosperity, tax cuts and increased productivity.
confidence is the keyword
Clockwise–JamesMay/StockConnection;BrandXPictures/PaulEdmondson;Corbis;ReedKaestner/Corbis;ImageSourcePink;JupiterImages/Corbis
Reprinted from the March 30, 2009
issue of Forbes magazine
2. 2 BRAZIL = PROMOTION
Determined to maintain domestic con-
sumer confidence in the face of a global cri-
sis that will reduce the country’s exports,
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s govern-
ment has cut personal taxes and the tax on
industrial products by $3.6 billion.
At the bottom end of the affluence scale,
the government has announced plans to
extend its aid program to 2 million more
poor families, bringing the total number of
families receiving financial assistance to 13
million.
Fortunately, the Brazilian economy is
widely diversified, and the agriculture sec-
tor, which feeds the nation, continues to
thrive.
“Brazil can afford to be self-sufficient in
almost all agricultural products,” says
Reinhold Stephanes, the minister of agricul-
ture. “The agriculture sector has grown over
the past year by an average of 5% annually,
and everything indicates that we can grow
at the same rate for the next 20 years.”
Almost 75% of that growth is due to
increased productivity, he says.
Production of ethanol from sugarcane will
be doubled in the next eight years on spe-
cially zoned pastureland so as not to inter-
fere with food production.
The other good news is that the govern-
ment plans to reduce the deforestation of the
Amazon rainforest by 70% over the next
decade. This should prevent the pumping of
4.8 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere – more than the combined
commitment of reductions promised by the
industrialized nations under the 1997
Kyoto Protocol. O
By Michael Knipe
A Healthy Bank Balance
Brazil’s financial sector has learned from experience.
Brazil has more than a hundred banks, and in contrast to the situation in other
Latin American countries, most of them are locally owned. Although two of the
country’s biggest financial institutions, Itaú and Unibanco, merged in November 2008
and further consolidation of the banking sector is expected in 2009, Brazil’s local
banks continue to enjoy good reputations. They are known for the efficiency of their
management and the high standards of their facilities and technological equipment.
They have had little exposure to the subprime crisis and, as a consequence of high
levels of inflation and instability in the past, they have developed sophisticated mod-
ern systems of operation.
One of the leading state banks, Banrisul, the largest in southern Brazil, underwent
an initial public offering (IPO) two years ago that boosted its capital by $874.9 mil-
lion while generating $568.7 million for the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
The bank used the revenue to expand its credit operations and invested in increas-
ing and updating its information technology. “Our bank is a leader in banking tech-
nology,” says Fernando Guerreiro de Lemos, Banrisul’s president. “Our Internet
banking is effectively the most advanced in Brazil.”
Following the IPO, the bank’s equity rose by 115% to $1.18 billion, and its total
assets reached more than $8.8 billion, an increase of more than 30% over the
$6.8 billion recorded in December 2006. Banrisul reduced its operating costs by 19%,
and the volume of business per employee increased by 23%.
Banrisul handles 97% of the banking market in Rio Grande do Sul, and more than
25% of the state’s GDP is channeled through its branches. The bank is effectively
the tenth-largest financial institution in Brazil. With nearly 3 million customers, it
returned a net profit of $196.4 million in 2007, an increase of 153% over the pre-
vious year.
Guerreiro de Lemos says Banrisul will continue to grow within its immediate cus-
tomer base and is expanding into the neighboring state of Santa Catarina. “We are
opening ten more branches there,” he says. “Our aim is to become the largest regional
bank.”
Another notable institution is the Banco do Nordeste do Brasil (BNB), which man-
ages CrediAmigo, the largest micro-credit program in South America and the sec-
ond largest in Latin America. Through this program the bank has lent more than
$655.6 million to small-scale entrepreneurs. O
Continued from previous page
3. 3BRAZIL = PROMOTION
A Growth
Market
Foreign investors have found fortune
in Brazil, but now successful local
companies are seeking expansion
at home and abroad.
With a wealthy class estimated to
number 20 million and an increas-
ing middle class of consumers, Brazil has
become a magnet for direct foreign
investment.
While companies such as ThyssenKrupp
of Germany, Baosteel of China, Hyundai of
South Korea, Suzuki of Japan and several
U.S. hotel chains have
established a profitable
presence in the country,
the economic growth
over the last seven years
has also been a blessing
for a wide range of long-
standing Brazilian com-
panies.
One of these, the
Ypióca Group, began
cultivating sugarcane
and producing cachaça,
the Brazilian liquor dis-
tilled from unrefined
sugarcane juice, in 1846.
Now run by the
fourth generation of the
family that founded the
business, Ypióca has
become a conglomer-
ate of seven companies encompassing
paper, cardboard and mineral water pack-
aging, bottle manufacturing, farming, logis-
tics and marketing, as well as cachaça
production.
“We are the only 100% Brazilian group
that has been in existence for 163 years
under the control of the same family,” says
Everardo Telles, the Ypióca Group president.
He emphasizes that the group is not
restricted to family members and is open to
competent outsiders. He explains, however,
that in the Brazilian beverage sector the
most traditional brands are managed by
families who preserve the secrecy of their
production methods.
“The company has learned and grown,
generation after generation, and Ypióca has
the identity of the family,” he says. Today,
the group’s companies generate more than
20,000 jobs, both directly and indirectly.
Telles says Ypióca is always seeking bet-
ter varieties of sugarcane and subproducts
for cane. It is continuing to diversify and
plans to begin beef and veal processing. The
group exports 5% of its output, mainly to
Spain, Portugal and Germany, and is plan-
ning to send export managers to the U.S.
and Japan to open up the markets there.
Another homegrown company of note is
M. Dias Branco, the country’s leader in both
volume and sales in the cracker and cookie
market, as well as the pasta sector.
The company has 12
factories, sells its prod-
ucts throughout the
country and is responsi-
ble for 20% of the mar-
ket in each of the sectors
it serves. “We have
experienced growth
because of the improve-
ment in the purchasing
power of the popula-
tion,” says Francisco
Ivens de Sá Dias
Branco, the company
president. His father,
Manuel, started the
business in 1927, and
Francisco joined as a
young man in 1953.
M. Dias Branco
invests more than
$437,000 a year in its 17 research and analy-
sis centers, which develop new products.
“You cannot be isolated from interna-
tional developments, because the customer
is more demanding,” says Dias Branco. “So
we want to produce here all the best prod-
ucts made in the U.S. and Europe.”
Demonstrating the private sector’s commit-
ment to social responsibility efforts,
M. Dias Branco, which employs more than
13,000, attaches great importance to its
social and human relationships with the
wider community as well as its employees. O
At the time of press, the currency conversion rate used was Brazilian reals to U.S. dollars – R$1 = US$0.437.
All monetary figures stated are U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated.
Director: Lucas Montes de Oca; Managing Editor: Beverley Blythe; Editor: Michael Knipe
Art Director: Lisa Pampillonia
Project Managers: Florence Lilti, Mathew Harris, Samantha Lewis and Jorge Maraima
Project Development: Charlotte Saint-Arroman; Commercial Director: Carolina Mateo
This special advertising feature was produced by Insight Publications, a division of Impact Media International Ltd.
150 East 55th Street, 7th Floor, NY, NY 10022, USA. Tel: +1 212 751 1900 Fax: +1 212 751 0088
www.insight-publications.com e-mail: publisher@insight-publications.com
4. Huge infrastructure projects and
initiatives to restock the rainforest
are some of the public-private
partnerships emerging from the
regeneration of Brazil’s regions.
State governments in the north and north-
east regions of Brazil are investing ambi-
tiously in infrastructure projects and opening
their doors to international investors.
These two regions extend more than
2,500 miles across the country – from the
western border with Peru through the
Amazon rainforest to the eastern seaboard
– and offer a wealth of entrepreneurial
opportunities in trade and tourism.
Rio Grande
do Norte, the
country’s most
easterly state, is about to build an airport
that will be the largest cargo terminal in
Latin America, with the capacity to receive
up to 40 million passengers a year.
Pará, the neighboring state to the west,
provides a gateway to the Amazon basin
and is planning a tree-planting campaign to
combat the deforestation of the rainforest.
Wilma Maria de Faria, the governor of
Rio Grande do Norte, says the next four
years will see a huge generation of invest-
ment in the state infrastructure through
public-private partnerships.
In addition to the airport, the federal gov-
ernment is investing in a major natural-gas-
to-chemicals project in Rio Grande do
Norte, and a bridge has been built to link
the two districts of Natal, the state capital.
Other projects include improvements to
the city’s port facilities and the construc-
tion of new highways, a convention cen-
ter and additional facilities for the tourism
and business sectors. It is estimated that
these projects involve investments totaling
$6.5 billion.
“The bridge is now a monument to the
city,” says Governor Faria, adding that the
attraction of the convention center has dou-
bled tourism numbers.
Situated on the easternmost corner of
BRAZIL = PROMOTION
PhilippeGiraud/GoodlookPictures/Corbis
IvanízioRamos,sponsoredbytheGovernmentofRioGrandedoNorte
The Green
Shoots of
Recovery
RicardoJunqueira/Alamy
5. 5
Brazil, Rio Grande do Norte has 250
miles of coast, lined with popular beaches.
Thanks to the winds of the South Atlantic,
it boasts air that is second only to the
Antarctic’s in its purity, and sand dunes that
reach 160 feet in height.
“Our GDP is the highest in the northeast
region and above the Brazilian average,”
says de Faria. “But despite this, we have to
combat poverty, and this is a big challenge
for us.”
Besides tourism, the state has a flourish-
ing business in fruit, shrimp farming, bee-
keeping, tuna fishing, mining, cement and
textile production. Nevertheless, the gover-
nor says, plenty of opportunities remain open
for investment, and there is a business cen-
ter to explain what incentives are available.
In Brazil’s northern region, Pará, the
country’s second-largest state with a pop-
ulation of 5 million, major investment
projects include a $3.5 billion steel mill, a
power plant and port expansions.
Belém, the state capital, sits on the delta
of the Amazon River about 80 miles
inland from the Atlantic. It is the main port
for river traffic and for the country’s cap-
ital, Brasilia, more than 1,200 miles inland.
The rainforest and its people are at the
heart of the state’s economy. “It is
not enough to say that deforestation
is not good,” says Ana Júlia Carepa,
the governor of Pará. “To combat
deforestation, the people who live in
the Amazon have to have a prof-
itable economic activity.”
To promote the sustainable devel-
opment of the rainforest dwellers, a
new program is providing a line of
credit to enable
smallholders to
plant cash-crop
trees. They will
not have to repay
the loans until
six months after
they’ve sold the
timber from a
maximum of
20% of the first
generation of
trees. More than
20,000 families are involved in the project,
and the target is to plant one billion trees
in five years.
“This project is truly innovative,” says
Governor Carepa. “It encourages a differ-
ent economy here in the Amazon, saving
the forest and helping people improve the
quality of their lives.”
Pará is promoting its tourist attractions
as far away as China.
The growth-acceleration program initi-
ated by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula
da Silva has been the driving force behind
much of Pará’s infrastructure work, includ-
ing the expansion of the port of Vila do
Conde and the plan to build a port at
Marabá, a town 300 miles upstream from
Belém. And the government is offering
incentives to invest in the state to private
companies that can generate employment
while respecting the environment. O
From left to right:
Mangal das Garcas park, Belem; City hall, Natal;
New bridge linking Natal to northern beaches;
Park in the city of Belem; Vero Peso Market, Belem.
MedioImages/Corbis
PauloFridman/Corbis
BRAZIL = PROMOTION
6. 6 BRAZIL = PROMOTION
Beyond offering beautiful beaches,
Brazil’s southern coasts provide oil
and gas – and plans are afoot to
build the biggest science technology
park in Latin America.
Santa Catarina and Espírito Santo are sit-
uated on Brazil’s south and southeastern
coasts and have benefited economically
from their locations.
Santa Catarina, which is about the size of
the state of Indiana with a similar-size pop-
ulation of 5 million, is a major industrial
and agricultural center and has one of the
highest standards of living in the country.
Espírito Santo is only half its size, but
encompasses some of Brazil’s busiest ports.
Although Portuguese fishermen first set-
tled Santa Catarina, the next immigrants to
arrive were German and Italian, and influ-
ences of all three cultures remain. The state’s
character is enriched by colonial architec-
ture, fishing villages and traditional craft
businesses such as lace making.
Tourism is a dominant element in the
economy. The Atlantic coastline is dotted
with 40 beaches, some featuring languid
lagoons and others with crashing waves that
attract surfers. Each beach draws a differ-
ent clientele, the northern ones appealing to
families and others to trendy singles.
Florianópolis, the capital, is located
partly on the mainland and partly on a
neighboring island that shares the name
Santa Catarina with the state. Two bridges
connect the city’s halves, with business cen-
tered chiefly on the mainland and tourism
mostly on the island.
Luiz Henrique da Silveira, Santa
Catarina’s governor, says his state is unique
in Brazil because of its system of regional
development. “We are the only state not
governed from the capital city,” he says. In
effect, it comprises 36 micro-regions, each
with a local council that has the autonomy
to choose its areas of development.
“People participate in monthly meetings,
which give them greater social control,” says
Mixing Business With
Pleasure
Santa Catarina: Hercilio Luz bridge, Florianópolis;
Surfing at Praia Brava, Camboriu;
Barra da Lagoa, Ilha de Santa Catarina
SambaPhoto/EduLyra
MichaelFritzen/Alamy
7. the governor. “This is something absolutely
new in Brazil and Latin America.”
The state’s scientific sector is high on the
economic agenda for further development.
The state devotes 2% of its budget to the
sector. It has created several technology
parks and is planning to build one it aims
to make the largest in Latin America.
Efforts are also under way to have
UNESCO declare Florianópolis a world
biosphere reserve. “It is a certification
that will distinguish the city’s ecological
standards,” says Governor Silveira.
With or without such distinction, the
state capital has a reputation for glamour,
fun and efficiency, and holds a strong
appeal for tourists and businesspeople
alike.
Further up the coast, the discovery of
substantial offshore deposits of oil and nat-
ural gas has boosted the economy of
Espírito Santo. A sliver of land, it has a
lively tourist industry and is surrounded by
three much larger states, Rio de Janeiro,
Minas Gerais and São Paulo.
Espírito Santo’s economy originally
focused on its coffee plantations, but it is
now Brazil’s largest source of gas, the coun-
try’s second-largest source of oil and the
leading exporter of marble and granite.
The state is also active as a processor of
limestone for the steel industry with ten
plants, including one that is the largest pel-
letizing complex in the world. Pelletizing is
a method of agglomerating materials into
pellets. “This is an area of industry that is
growing in Espírito Santo and should
receive new investments in the coming
years,” says Paulo Hartung, the state’s
governor.
Investment in the energy sector has
enabled the state to triple local power gen-
eration. It is now seeking partners to
invest in the road system. “The economy
of Espírito Santo is experiencing a good
moment,” says the governor. “We have a
small budget surplus, which is rare in
Brazil.” O
7BRAZIL = PROMOTION
Espírito Santo.
Open doors to the world.
Espírito
Santo
Rio Grande
do Norte
Bahia
Piauí
Ceará
Paraíba
Pernambuco
Alagoas
Sergipe
Maranhão
Rio de Janeiro
Minhas Gerais
São Paulo
Espírito Santo is one of the fastest growing
states in Brazil. It is the country’s largest
supplier of natural gas and the 2nd
largest producer of oil while also
boasting strategic logistics and location:
seven ports, railroads, highways, gas
pipelines and mineral pipelines.
It is a place of opportunities, political-
institutional stability and economic
diversification, with a development strategy
defined until 2025. A state that has received
companies from all over the world. And it is
ready to receive yours as well.
The superb attractions of Santa
Catarina and its capital Florianópolis will
be brought to international attention
when the state hosts a Global Travel &
Tourism Summit in May.
Travel and tourism industry specialists
from all over the world will gather in
Florianópolis and discover firsthand why
Santa Catarina, with its lagoons, lush
greenery and crashing surf beaches, is
widely regarded among well-travelled visi-
tors as the most beautiful state in Brazil.
Santa Catarina tourism officials believe
that, when the visiting travel agents return
to their home bases, they will be ideally
equipped to endorse the appeal of the
state and the city to their clients.
Espírito Santo: Panoramic view of Vila Velha;
Golden lion tamarin, perched on a branch;
Muqueca Capixaba, a traditional dish of the region;
Pedra Azul Park
BrazilPhotos.com/Alamy
AndreSeale/Alamy
AlistairDove/Alamy
8. 8 BRAZIL = PROMOTION
We invest in what is
most valuable to your
company: the people.
Together, we have a long life ahead of us.
Central Nacional
Central Nacional Unimed.
Ten years caring for the
lives of over 780,000
people throughout Brazil.
www.centralnacionalunimed.com.br
Samaritano Hospital is one of the best hospitals
in the world according to Joint Commission
International, the most important certifying
body of health care quality standards.
This recognition was made possible thanks
to our stringent procedures, cutting-edge
technology and the high level qualification
of our clinical and nursing staff.
Want to know more?
Access www.samaritano.org.br or send an
e-mail to internacional@samaritano.org.br
Hospital Samaritano - Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Reaccredited for the 2nd consecutive time
by Joint Commission International.
Investments in
technology and human
resources to ensure the
best for your health.
Delivery of Brazil’s government-funded
healthcare system is hampered by the
disparity between rich and poor, the vast-
ness of the country and underfunding. As
a consequence, a parallel system of private
healthcare serves a quarter of the 200 mil-
lion population, with public and private
patients often treated in the same hospitals.
One of the country’s largest and most suc-
cessful healthcare service providers in this
network is Central Nacional Unimed, a
cooperative set up ten years ago that now
has 106,000 medical practitioners serving
15 million people.
Another notable provider, Hospital
Samaritano of São Paulo, one of the coun-
try’s oldest medical institutions, first opened
its doors in 1890. It’s now a member of the
National Association of Private Hospitals,
a group of 36 hospitals distributed through-
out Brazil.
Unimed is represented in 377 cities cov-
ering 80% of the country. Of the 377 coop-
eratives, 82 have their own hospitals.
Dr. Mohamad Akl, the president of
Unimed, says one of the service’s distinctive
qualities is its cooperative status. “The doc-
tor who attends the patient is the owner,”
says Dr. Akl. “This is the differential of the
cooperative system.”
Dr. Akl believes that foreign companies
arriving in Brazil will need to provide
medical insurance for their employees, and
this will help the Unimed system expand its
client base. Last year, he says, there was
growth of 18%. Taking into account the
current economic situation, he expects a
slower growth of 10% this year but is hop-
ing for more.
Hospital Samaritano’s high standard of
healthcare is vouchsafed by its accreditation
from Joint Commission International, a not-
for-profit organization whose certification
is recognized worldwide.
Samaritano is strong in neurosurgery,
orthopedics, intensive care services, cardi-
ology and bionic ear surgery. “We were the
first hospital to bring to the private network
the cochlear implant that sends electronic
impulses from a computer to the brain,”
says Dr. José Antônio de Lima, Samaritano’s
director.
The hospital’s other assets are its 19th-
century philanthropic traditions, the provi-
sion of more nursing staff because nurses are
less costly in Brazil than in other countries
and, not least, a preparedness to welcome
patients’ companions.
“Culturally, in Brazil, when you have sur-
gery, a member of your family will be there,
sleeping in the room with you,” says Dr.
Lima. “It is a huge plus. In America you
can’t do that. In Europe it’s very difficult.
In Great Britain it’s impossible.”
Samaritano even has programs that allow
patients to have their pet dogs with them.
“You know, Brazilians are much more
emotional, much more friendly and smiley,”
Dr. Lima explains. “The whole process of
healthcare is completely different and more
sympathetic here. The staff wants to hear
what your problem is.” O
Where a Woof and a
Smile Work Wonders
Brazil’s pioneering hospitals allow surgical patients to have relatives stay
with them and even welcome pet dogs.
Advertiser Directory
Banrisul www.banrisul.com.br
Hospital Samaritano www.samaritano.org.br
M. Dias Branco www.mdiasbranco.com.br
Unimed www.unimed.com.br
Ypióca Group www.ypioca.com.br
Govt. of Espírito Santo www.es.gov.br
Govt. of Mato Grosso do Sul www.ms.gov.br
Govt. of Para www.pa.gov.br
Govt. of Rio Grande do Norte www.rn.gov.br
Govt. of Santa Catarina www.sc.gov.br
9. 9
Its name should be as recognizable as the
Amazon. It is larger than New Mexico
and is the world’s largest freshwater wet-
land, with an unparalleled variety of flora
and fauna. Yet beyond environmental
enthusiasts, the Pantanal is little known.
André Puccinelli, the governor of Mato
Grosso do Sul, the state in which 70% of
the Pantanal is located, intends to challenge
this ignorance. And, while publicizing the
attributes of his state’s ecological paradise,
he intends to more clearly establish the
identity of Mato Grosso do Sul, often con-
fused with its northern neighbor Mato
Grosso, from which the federal government
separated it in 1979.
“We are starting an international cam-
paign, distributing DVDs, pictures, books
and folders of information about our state
and the Pantanal through Brazilian
embassies around the world,” he says.
Governor
Puccinelli has
a reputation
for getting
things done. “When I took office in 2007,
the state had a monthly revenue of R$350
million [US$153 million] and a deficit of
R$30 million [US$12.9 million],” he says.
“Now we have a monthly revenue of
R$470 million [US$205.4 million] and a
surplus of R$40 million [US$17.5 mil-
lion].”
The state has completed some new infra-
structure projects and begun others, and has
increased and exceeded its house-building
targets, creating work for low-skilled
workers.
“We are now the fifth-largest producer
of ethanol in the country and by 2015 will
be the second largest,” says Puccinelli.
The state’s economy is based primarily on
livestock, grains and
forestry. The govern-
ment is now taking
measures to induce
investment projects
that will add greater
value to homegrown
resources.
“We produce
10 million tons of
grain, 5 million tons
of soybeans and
more than 3 million tons of corn,” says the
governor. Yet the state has only one indus-
try based on these products. It also has huge
reserves of minerals, but lacks investment
in exploration and processing.
“What we need is industrialization to
turn iron into final products, process
meat and initiate other projects,” says
Puccinelli. “For such projects the state may
give land free of cost.”
One of Mato Grosso do Sul’s biggest
attractions for investment is its land, which
it claims is more competitively priced than
land anywhere else in Brazil. “And we offer
exemption of up to 90% of taxes for ini-
tiatives that are lacking in the state,” says
the governor. O
Stake Your Claim
An ecological paradise that wants to encourage
investment in manufacturing offers free land and
tax incentives.
BRAZIL = PROMOTION
JacquesJangoux/Alamy
10. Brazil has declared this year “Destination
Amazonia” in an effort to increase the
number of tourists visiting the rainforest.
Brazil, along with the governments of the
seven other nations bordering the region,
believes that the best way to preserve the for-
est is to take measures to alleviate the
poverty of the inhabitants without harming
the delicate ecology.
Increasing the numbers of tourists visiting
the Amazon is thought to be the answer. It
will give the people there a better livelihood
than the destructive habits of the past,
while extending popular knowledge of the
biological and ethnic diversity of the Amazon
basin and its global atmospheric significance.
“Tourism offers a great opportunity for
regional economic development with envi-
ronmental sustainability and social inclu-
sion,” says Francisco Ruiz, secretary-general
of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty
Organization.
Beside the obvious river and jungle explo-
rations, numerous events to attract tourists
are planned, including cultural and culinary
10 BRAZIL = PROMOTION
Brazil is boosting tourism to save the
rainforest and showcase the country’s
wealth of attractions and almost
untouched treasures.
Opening up the
Amazon
11. festivals, exhibitions and sporting contests.
At present, Brazil, which occupies almost
70% of the region, receives fewer than
30,000 tourist visitors annually to the two
states that extend into the Amazon basin,
Amazonas and Pará.
Indeed, in spite of Brazil’s obvious attrac-
tions – glorious beaches along 6,000 miles
of coastline, a fascinating indigenous and
colonial heritage, and a wealth of cultural
diversity – the full economic clout of the
international tourism sector has yet to
make a substantial impact on the country.
The annual number of tourists is lit-
tle more than five million, a third of whom
head for Rio de Janeiro, and fewer than a
million visitors are from the U.S.
Although the number of visitors is rela-
tively small, Jeanine Pires, president of
Embratur, the national tourism agency, says
that visitors stay longer, an average of 18
or 19 days, visit more cities and spend more
money. Its Aquarela tourism plan, intro-
duced in 2005, is designed to promote sun
and beach holidays, sports, ecotourism, cul-
ture and business tourism and events.
Furthermore, new airline routes to
American cities have been opened and
US$1 billion is being devoted to a tourism
development program with the aim of
enabling Brazil to compete to host two
major sporting events, the World Soccer
Cup competition and the summer Olympic
Games, both in 2014. O
11BRAZIL = PROMOTION
Seeds of Growth
Banco do Nordeste is currently pro-
viding 400,000 small-scale business
farmers with microcredit facilities and
aims to reach a million customers
with funding by 2011.
“We are the largest institution pro-
viding microcredit in South America,”
says Robert Smith, the bank president.
Although it is charged primarily
with promoting the sustainable devel-
opment of the northeast region, the
bank has extended its microcredit
facilities to the slums of Rio de Janeiro
at the request of President Lula da Silva.
Social responsibility and sustainable devel-
opment are key strategic factors in the
management of Brazil’s leading companies.
Grupo Orsa, the country’s largest inte-
grated paper and corrugated-cardboard-box
producer, has created a philanthropic foun-
dation through which it is planning major
projects to fight malaria and conserve the
forests in the Amazon Delta.
“In the last ten years, Orsa has invested
R$140 million [US$58.7m] in our founda-
tion’s activities,” says Sergio Antonio
Garcia Amoroso, the Orsa president. One
of the group’s actions, he says, has been to
create a company called Orsa Florestal that
will develop 845,000 hectares of managed
forest over a ten year period, while provid-
ing income and improving the health and
education of the forest dwellers.
“We are already directing a fairly exten-
sive program of promotion for Curua
eucalyptus, a long-grain Amazon plant
that can be used to replace plastic,” he says.
Another of Brazil’s flagship institutions,
Vale, the world’s second largest mining com-
pany, regards sustainable development as
its core duty and says it fulfills this by min-
ing and processing mineral resources in an
environmentally responsible manner.
Vale’s petrochemical production is
achieved by using technology whose emis-
sions are lower than the legal level, even
though this involves an extra cost of more
than $50 million, says Demian Fiocca, exec-
utive director for management and sustain-
ability.
Vale’s social responsibility extends beyond
its own mining operations. “We don’t
mine in China but we have some joint ven-
tures there and have been very engaged in
helping the recovery from the recent earth-
quake,” says Fiocca. “We have donated $1
million to the Red Cross and around
$400,000 to a non-government organiza-
tion that works with children in the affected
countryside.” O
ModaFusion, the brainchild of French
fashion journalist Nadine Gonzalez and
Brazilian designer Andrea Fasanello, is
attracting the attention of the interna-
tional fashion press. The Franco-Brazilian
association promotes ethical fashion and
showcases the creativity of women from
the Brazilian slums.
“We are working with French stylists
to transform the language of the favelas
into a fashion design language,” says
Gonzalez. “Every year a student from
French top fashion schools is chosen to
develop a collection for ModaFusion”
Carla Bruni, the wife of President
Sarkozy of France, is a patron and wears
ModaFusion clothes, while stylists who
have worked for the association have gone
on to work for luxury brands such as Jean
Paul Gauthier Couture and Celine.
ModaFusion’s 2009 summer collection
features dresses made of knitted fabrics
derived from bamboo fiber and others
created from recycled plastic.O
Fashion Forward
How companies with ethical
policies help communities and
protect the environment
Brazil’s Business Benefactors
These two pages were prepared specifically for this reprint and did not appear in Forbes magazine
